Second Chances/Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

So it's that time of year again, the time of year when the weeks suddenly start flying by, the thoughts of papers and exams are constantly whirling around my head and before I know it, I haven't cooked anything in almost a week because I have actually forgotten what day it is. I usually like forgetting what day it is, because it is so often a sign of being on vacation, of relaxation and fun. Then there is the other type of forgetting what day it is which means that I start counting days based on how far away I am from a due date, and find myself having tunnel vision up until that day. It is at times like these that I accidentally make 6 pumpkin cranberry loaves and believe it to be the funniest and most exciting thing that has happened in weeks (sadly, it probably is).

Let's back track. Yesterday, I finally had the time to procrastinate, which, from the looks of my agenda, won't really be happening in the next few weeks and so, I decided to bake.

Sanity/Cinnamon Chocolate-Chip Sour Cream Cake

Sometimes I am compelled to question my sanity. I mean, I woke up at an ungodly hour yesterday morning and moseyed to the supermarket just so I could buy the ingredients to make this cake. You see the thing is, its not that I was craving sweets or chocolate or anything, but I had decided that I was going to bake a cake for my blog. So, despite papers and midterms, at 8 am I was lurking outside the supermarket waiting for the doors to open. By 10:30 piping hot deliciousness was sneaking out of my oven. I wish I could have been in my roommate’s head when she walked out of her room and there was already a cake baking. I wouldn't blame her for worrying, normal people don’t make cakes the second they roll out of bed. Except for me that is, I swear I am totally normal.

It all started on Monday, when I decided that things have been looking a little salty around here recently, so I knew it was time to bake something up. I have more or less a million recipes bookmarked on my computer, but I didn’t feel like making anything fancy or difficult. To quote my oh-so-eloquent self, “I just want to make a cake where I just throw everything into a bowl and ta-dah!”

Golden Tickets/100-mile Brunch

*UPDATE* did a little write up about me, click on the picture to check it out!

I have never won a thing in my life. When I played softball in 8th grade, I managed to hit the ball once all season, and somehow the ball boomeranged back, hit me on the shoulder and I literally tagged myself out. This past week my luck turned, I was the winner of Edible Manhattan's raffle for two tickets to the NYC Wine and Food Festival's Great Performances Farm to Table Table 100-mile Brunch. Did you know that 100 years ago people used to eat more oyster meat than beef? Yesterday's brunch was filled with all kinds of fun facts like this, but the best part of all was the food. Every dish tasted fresh and flavorful, and everything from the bread to the vegetables to the cheeses came from within a 100-mile radius of New York.

My sister and I walked into to the sunny room at the top of the New York Fire museum and went straight for the Widow's Hole Oysters from the North Fork. They were briny and sweet, and washed down with the unusual Un-Bloody Mary (vodka flavored with tomato consommé rather than juice) they were the perfect first taste of the meal to come.

Welcoming the Fall/Apple Buttermilk Bread Pudding

For better or for worse, it seems that fall is officially here. Fall, that bittersweet time of year when courageous souls are still wearing shorts and flip flops, holding on to the fading thoughts of summer and pushing out the thoughts of impending midterms and another winter to come. Luckily, it is during this uncertain time of year that apples come back in season, timed perfectly with the need for ultimate comfort foods.

I am not sure I will ever understand why apples make the most comforting of foods, instead I just embrace the rich smell of cinnamon that swirls around my apartment when I cook them, their crisp sweet-tartness and the buttery sweet goodness that usually encases them. My love for this fruit is endless and I always have some on hand either as a snack or as an ingredient for both sweet and savory dishes.